July 31, 2007

Where does EA belong in the enterprise?

Typically, EA is a program situated under the Chief Information Officer (CIO) i.e. in the Information Technology department. However, to maximize its effect on the end-user, EA should be elevated to a strategic mission-business functional area of the organization, for example under the Chief of Staff or similar such prominent function.

EA should be elevated in the organization because generally, it will have more impact for the benefit of the end-users, which is what user-centric EA is all about. It will have more impact because:

  • It will be easier to capture and analyze information in the organization, because EA has a broader mandate and vantage point from which to conduct its activities.
  • It will have the ears of executive management and therefore be in a better position to implement its recommendations and plans.
  • It will be better able to synthesize business and IT information, because it will be functionally independent and will not be seen as biased or simply an extension of the CIO.
  • It will be able to focus on identifying the information requirements from the business side of the house and to drive technology solutions from the IT side.
  • Business will drive technology (rather than investing in new technologies for their own sake i.e. because they are new and “cool”), and therefore IT investments will align with business outcomes and improved organizational performance.

What do you think ─ should EA be part of the “IT shop” or should it be somewhere else in the organization?


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